North Dakota Welds (NDWelds) Program: Advancing Welding Technician Skills for Students and Training for Educators

North Dakota State College Of Science, Wahpeton ND

Investigators

Abstract

North Dakota State College of Science (NDSCS) will implement the NDwelds Program with the goal of enhancing welding technician skills for secondary school students, two-year college students, secondary school teachers, and two-year college faculty members. Through this ATE project, NDSCS will increase the number of trained and certified welders possessing essential and advanced skills to meet the workforce needs of the region and state. This project incorporates training modules developed through the ATE funded Regional Center for the National Center of Excellence in Welding Education and Training (Weld-Ed) and builds upon the success of NDSCS's North Dakota Advanced Manufacturing Skills Training Initiative (NDAMSTI) funded through the Trade Adjustment Assistance Community College and Career Training program of the U. S. Department of Labor. The project will increase awareness among students from under-represented groups (females and minorities) of the opportunity of Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) careers in welding. NDwelds will significantly impact the regional economic environment by filling a critical employment training need. This project responds to business and industry needs for welders by building the pipeline of students from secondary career and technical education programs to post-secondary welding programs. More specifically, the project will be accomplished through the following five goals: (1) Develop a welding curriculum at NDSCS by alignment with the curriculum delivered in career and technical education courses in secondary schools across North Dakota and the adoption of the American Welding Society's (AWS) Schools Excelling through National Skill Standards Education (SENSE) program, (2) Conduct outreach activities targeting female and minority students to increase enrollments in secondary career and technical education courses, (3) Recruit and train career and technical education instructors through professional development activities, (4) Facilitate the certification and testing of welders using national standards by NDSCS becoming an AWS Accredited Test Facility, and (5) Develop latticed curricula to establish new degree tracks in advanced skills for welding and manufacturing students at NDSCS while increasing the number of NDSCS graduates that participate in 2 plus 2 programs with Minnesota State University-Moorhead and Valley City State University. These cumulative efforts of curriculum development, targeted outreach to diversify the student body, faculty professional development, and building sustainable pathways for welding and manufacturing have the potential to transform the regional and state landscape of welding technician education in North Dakota.